Tag - big-tech

 
 

BIG TECH

While Apple has dominated the holiday quarter in recent years, its surge ahead of Samsung over a full year is unprecedented and suggests Apple is weathering an industrywide slump better than its rivals.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 17, 2024
Apple passed Samsung as world’s top phone-maker in 2023
Apple's surge ahead of Samsung over a full year is unprecedented and suggests Apple is weathering an industrywide slump better than its rivals.
Masimo's headquarters in Irvine, California. The U.S. International Trade Commission ruled earlier this year that the Apple Watch violates two Masimo patents related to blood-oxygen sensing and imposed an import ban on the Ultra 2 and Series 9 models.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 28, 2023
The email to Tim Cook that set the Apple watch saga in motion
Masimo, based in Irvine, California, is the rare company to wound Apple in a patent dispute.
Apple Watch Ultra 2 devices displayed in Los Angeles. Apple said on Dec. 18 it will stop selling some of its smartwatch models in the United States while it fights a patent battle over technology for detecting blood oxygen levels.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 19, 2023
Apple plans rescue for $17 billion watch biz in face of U.S. ban
If the ban holds, Apple is working on a range of legal and technical options.
Sundar Pichai, Google's chief executive (right), arrives to testify at an antitrust case against Google in Washington on Oct. 30. A trio of antitrust cases on the docket threaten to reshape Google’s business and sap its profits.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 13, 2023
Google’s antitrust loss to Epic could preview its legal fate in 2024
The San Francisco case was the first test of how Google might fare in the antitrust gauntlet it faces in the United States — and the company was routed.
Since starting out as a venue for short, silly lip-syncing videos, TikTok has emerged as an incubator for consumer trends, with millions of people trying on clothes and reviewing products.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 13, 2023
TikTok Shop sees early success, taking aim at giant Amazon
In a sign of how seriously Amazon is taking TikTok, the company cut deals with Pinterest, Meta and Snapchat to let users shop without leaving those apps.
Users often do not realize that almost all app notifications travel over Google and Apple's servers, giving the two companies unique insight into the traffic flowing from those apps to their users.
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 8, 2023
Smartphone users' push notifications spied on, U.S. senator warns
Users often do not realize that almost all notifications for incoming messages, breaking news and other updates travel over Google and Apple's servers.
Microsoft's artificial intelligence prospects just got a boost from Sam Altman's return to his CEO role at OpenAI.
COMMENTARY
Nov 23, 2023
Altman’s comeback is a strategic triumph for Microsoft
Sam Altman's termination and swift rehiring will shift the dynamics at OpenAI.
People use smartphones on the street in Tokyo in January 2019.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Nov 20, 2023
The NTT Law — a guard against monopoly, or barrier to innovation?
Some say the law regulating the telecom giant stops it from competing against the likes of Google, but others say it contains vital market protections.
An Apple Store in Shanghai in September
BUSINESS / Tech / FOCUS
Nov 19, 2023
Asian regulators turn focus to Big Tech
Across the region, there are indications that Big Tech may soon have to comply with standards that could become international benchmarks.
People stand outside an Apple Store in Shanghai as the new iPhone 15 officially goes on sale across China on Sept. 22.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 8, 2023
Apple postpones next year's iPhone and Mac software to fix bugs
Rather than adding new features, company engineers have now been tasked with fixing flaws and improving software performance, sources have said.
In a new program called Lantern, big tech companies will share signals of activity that violate their policies on child exploitation.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 8, 2023
Tech giants pool efforts to fight online child sex abuse
Child victims of abuse online are a hot-button issue for regulators and tech firms are eager to show they are taking adequate measures to protect them.
Meta has said it will bar political advertisers from using Facebook's generative AI tools.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 7, 2023
Meta to restrict use of generative AI tools in political adverts
The move may limit campaigns' access to tools lawmakers have warned could turbocharge the spread of election misinformation.
Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet, exits federal court in Washington on Oct. 30.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 7, 2023
Google's app store strategy bad for everyone, Epic says in court
Moves by Alphabet to thwart competition hurt developers and raise prices for consumers, the games firm said in opening statements.
Much of the focus on Meta stemmed from a whistleblower's release of documents in 2021 that showed the company knew Instagram, which began as a photo-sharing app, was addictive and worsened body image issues for some teen girls.
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 25, 2023
Lawsuits against Meta in 33 states claim Instagram harms children
Children have long been an appealing demographic for businesses, which hope to attract them as consumers at ages when they may be more impressionable.
The Fair Trade Commission has begun a probe on allegations of potential antitrust violations by Google.
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 23, 2023
Japan begins probe into Google for alleged antitrust violations
Japan’s antitrust watchdog has begun an investigation into whether Alphabet’s Google abuses its market position to block rival services.
The Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. headquarters in New Taipei City, Taiwan
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 23, 2023
Beijing probes Foxconn amid spate of arrests at foreign firms
China often does not explain publicly the actions taken by its regulators, leaving companies guessing at the ultimate goals of the government.
Kiva robots move inventory at an Amazon fulfilment center in Tracy, California.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 13, 2023
Amazon strategy could unlock $100 billion in revenue
Supply Chain by Amazon is the latest part of its drive to become a leading logistics company.
Alma Zadic, Austria's justice minister, during an interview in Vienna on Sept. 26
WORLD / Politics
Oct 11, 2023
In Europe's politics, disinformation and hate pose growing threat
Austrian Justice Minister Alma Zadic believes public institutions simply don’t have the resources to match the output of bad actors.
A self-employed Amazon Japan delivery driver (right) who was deemed eligible for workers' compensation holds a news conference in Tokyo on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 5, 2023
Amazon Japan delivery driver eligible for workers' compensation
The outcome could clear the way for other self-employed Amazon delivery drivers to be eligible for compensation and could impact other industries.
Mark Zuckerberg speaks onstage during the Meta Connect Developer Conference in Menlo Park, California, on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 28, 2023
Meta unveils AI assistant and Facebook-streaming glasses
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg described the products as bringing together the virtual and real worlds while emphasizing lower costs.

Longform

Later this month, author Shogo Imamura will open Honmaru, a bookstore that allows other businesses to rent its shelves. It's part of a wave of ideas Japanese booksellers are trying to compete with online spaces.
The story isn't over for Japan's bookstores